Not a single Texas university earned a passing grade for free speech this year — and the state's flagship system landed in the middle of the pack at best.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) released its seventh annual College Free Speech Rankings on Sept. 9, grading 12 Texas universities.
Nationwide, the rankings suggest some improvement in campus free speech climates, while also showing that many students still report difficulty discussing controversial topics and remain skeptical of allowing controversial speakers on campus.
In Texas, the state's average speech climate grade is F, below the national average of D-. University of Texas at El Paso led the 12 ranked public and private state universities, while Texas State
University came in last in the state and third-worst nationally.
Here's a look at the 12 universities and the overall Texas score.
Texas universities receive an F score for campus freedom of speech
The rankings gave Texas a 58.5/100 score — down 0.04 points from 2025 — giving the state the same average F grade and noting 12 new speech controversies in 2026.
Here is how the state ranked for specific free speech topics:
- Comfort expressing ideas — D
- Disruptive conduct — C+
- Openness — D+
- Self-censorship — D
- Administrative support — F
- Political tolerance — F
The rankings also found that:
- 42% of students said they had self-censored on campus at least once or twice a month.
- 68% of students said shouting down a speaker to prevent them from speaking on campus is acceptable — at least in rare cases.
- 33% of students say using violence to stop someone from speaking on campus is acceptable — at least in rare cases.
- There are roughly 2.88 liberal students for every one conservative student in Texas.
Texas 2027 College Free Speech Rankings
Here's how the 12 public and private universities ranked among the 261 schools FIRE evaluated:
- The University of Texas at El Paso (No. 48 nationwide)
- Southern Methodist University (No. 52)
- University of Texas at Arlington (No. 53)
- University of Texas at San Antonio (No. 67)
- University of Texas at Austin (No. 124)
- University of Houston (No. 183)
- Texas A&M University (No. 192)
- Texas Tech University (No. 193)
- University of North Texas (No. 248)
- Rice University (No. 250)
- University of Texas at Dallas (No. 251)
- Texas State University (No. 259)
Speech controversies at Texas universities in 2026
The FIRE rankings found 12 new speech controversies in Texas in 2026.
There were five campus incidents in which a professor or academic staff member faced backlash or punishment for speech protected by academic freedom or the First Amendment — three at Texas A&M and two at Texas Tech.
There were also five campus incidents in which a student or student group faced punishment or pressure from the school for speech protected by the First Amendment — one at North Texas, Rice and Texas A&M, and two at UT Dallas.
Lastly, there were two instances in 2025 of deplatforming, where a scheduled event or speaker was canceled or prevented from taking place — both at North Texas.
FIRE also filed a lawsuit in September 2025, challenging Texas Senate Bill 2972, which requires public colleges and universities to impose a host of sweeping course-topic censorship measures. Former state senator and now Texas Tech Chancellor Brandon Creighton authored the bill, which took effect Sept. 1, 2025.
Data for the 2026 College Free Speech Rankings was collected after the law took effect, and the ranking notes that the full extent of these changes has not yet been determined. However, compliance with SB 2972 would, at minimum, cause Texas A&Mto lose its status as a “green light” institution and would prevent the other schools from earning a green light, bringing down Texas schools in future rankings.
Mateo Rosiles is the Texas Connect reporter for USA TODAY and its regional papers in Texas. Got a news tip for him? Email him at mrosiles@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No Texas university earns passing grade for campus free speech. See list
